Photo Cupcakes from Photojojo
Originally uploaded by candiedyams.
A friend sent me this link in from photojojo. What a fun project for birthdays!
Friday, March 31, 2006
Photo Cupcakes from Photojojo
A friend sent me this link in from photojojo. What a fun project for birthdays!
How Sweet it is...Manhattan Cupcake Culture
How Sweet it is...Manhattan Cupcake Culture
Originally uploaded by candiedyams.
We got an email today announcing a cupcake exhibition at our very favorite bakery, Sugar Sweet Sunshinw. Buxton Midyette is having a show, "Cupcake Culture", April 1st thru April 30th, 2006 at the Sugar Sweet Sunshine Bakery in the Lower East Side. The show will feature a set of 15 cupcake portraits; as well as one of my signature maps depicting New York cupcake culture. The show's opening will be this Saturday, April 1st from 5:00-7:00pm at Sugar Sweet Sunshine Bakery (126 Rivington Street, between Essex & Norfolk.
Thursday, March 30, 2006
St. Pat's cupcake
Chocolate stout cupcake with pseudoclassical buttercream frosting and a chocolate hazelnut cookie [Classic devil's food recipe with guinness substituted for 1/2 of the warm water, frosting is a hybrid between classic buttercream and quick frosting with loads of vanilla paste].
mini elvis cupcakes
white cake, banana slice bottom, and topped with a chocolate/peanut butter buttercream
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Cupcake Craze
We were interviewed by Laura Johnston, a Columbia J-school student about our favorite topic: CUPCAKES! We're posting the whole story with Laura's permission:
The creation of the cupcake craze has the aura of a fairy tale.
Once upon a time at Magnolia Bakery, then an unknown corner bake shop in Greenwich Village, Jennifer Appel and her childhood friend business partner, Allysa Torey, were making a layer cake. They had extra batter, Appel said, so Torey told her to run out and buy some cupcake papers from a nearby store. The resulting accidental cupcakes were immediately snapped up.
“It was a coincidence,” said Appel, recounting the story in her office, a simple, concrete-floored space in the basement of her new venture, Buttercup Bake Shop. “It spread like wildfire.”
Magnolia wasn’t the first cupcake bakery in New York. That honor goes to the Cupcake Café, which opened in Hell’s Kitchen in 1988. But it wasn’t until Magnolia specialized in the kid-sized treats in 1996 that they became cool.
Since then, the cupcake obsession has spread to about a dozen cupcake specialty bake shops in New York and countless others sprouting up across the country. Most have cutesy names, such as sugar Sweet sunshine, Happy Happy Happy, Crumbs and, in Beverly Hills, Sprinkles Cupcakes. Just-plain restaurants, such as Kitchenette in Morningside Heights and Downtown Atlantic in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, also sell the goodies. Couples order cupcakes for their weddings, and there’s even a cupcake-themed t-shirt company, Johnny Cupcakes Clothing, and an all-cupcakes-all-the-time blog, Cupcakes Take the Cake.
“Cupcakes were always the rage. Everybody’s mom made them for school parties,” said Appel, who can’t remember her mother ever baking them. “But they didn’t catch on until the whole Magnolia/Buttercup phenomenon.”
(That phenomenon being owed to both bakeries, since Appel split from her partner and founded Buttercup – now a franchise operation – in 1999.)
Although lines snaked out the door at Magnolia even before the Miranda and Carrie pigged out on Magnolia cupcakes in “Sex and the City” in 2000, the HBO show made Magnolia a must-see tourist stop. More recently, the “Saturday Night Live” music video satire, “Lazy Sunday,” in which Chris Parnell and Andy Samberg rap about Magnolia cupcakes and The Chronicles of Narnia, cemented its celebrity.
But why do so many people like cupcakes? Why not cookies or brownies or Rice Krispie treats?
Aficionados cite all sorts of reasons. They’re portable. They don’t require a knife and fork. It’s fun to peel the paper away. They provide nostalgia. They’re guilt-reduced because of the size. They come in at least a dozen flavors They’re fairly cheap, priced from $1.50 to $4, depending on the size and bakery.
Peggy Williams, co-owner of sugar Sweet sunshine on the Lower East Side, can give plenty of reasons for the trend. “We’ve said this countless times, but I think they’re just cute and small, and people don’t feel that guilty about eating something like that,” she said. “They remind people of their days growing up, of bake sales. People walk in, and they’re smiling because of the cupcakes. They get kind of gaga over them.”
Williams, 43, started the bakery in December 2003 with her friend, Debbie Weiner, 39. Both worked behind the counter in Magnolia’s early years, then at Buttercup. When they decided to open their own cupcake bar, they spent a year of Sundays baking and experimenting in Weiner’s kitchen.
“We both feel in love with the atmosphere of a bakery – homey and cute, where people would come in [and be] happy,” Williams said. “We kind of wanted to take that concept and put our own spin on it, make it a fun place, but also a neighborhood place, where people could hang out, veg and eat their cupcake, and not worry about running out the door.”
Cupcakes are all about “having your cake and eating it too,” said Appel, whose bakery adopted the slogan, “Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first.”
At Buttercup, girls in white t-shirts and bright blue aprons bustle behind the colorful cupcake case. One swirls thick gobs of brown frosting atop a small chocolate cupcake with a spatula. Another chirps, “How can I help you?” as the door chimes charmingly and customers stream in.
A young woman sporting a bulky black coat and big purse points at the trays of delectable cupcakes, covered in brown and yellow and pink and mint green frosting, some decorated with sprinkles or cherries. “Two of the red velvet,” she says, choosing carefully. “Two chocolate chocolate.”
Appel’s average customer, she says, is a 27-year-old, size-4 woman. Not a kid. And the bloggers of Cupcakes Take the Cake (http://cupcakestakethecake.blogspot.com/) fit that profile.
“It’s something about getting one for yourself, you don’t have to share it,” said Rachel Kramer Bussel, 30, a magazine editor who started the blog in the summer of 2004.
The fun is in cupcakes’ unique decorations and flavors, she said. Some look like the Hostess lunch-box staple, complete with cream filling and a white squiggle on the top. Others can be decorated for birthdays or holidays – green frosting and sprinkles for Saint Patrick’s Day, for instance.
Bussel also likes to watch how people eat cupcakes, by delicate nibbles, icing-first licks, big bites, or separating the top from the bottom. So does Nichelle Stephens, a co-blogger. (Allison Bojarski makes up the third member of the blogging trio, who post an endless array of cupcake photos and interviews with cupcake fans.) Each day, about 1,500 people around the world visit the site.
“[Cupcakes] mean more than just what you’re eating,” Stephens said as she ate chili at the counter at Kitchenette. She abstained from a cupcake because she’d already eaten about four in the past two weeks. “They always are about celebrations, from birthdays to weddings. Other baked goods, they don’t have that relation to celebration.”
So far, neither the bloggers nor the bakery owners see any end to the cupcake craze. If anything, they said, it’s spreading, with cupcake bakeries opening in Toronto, Chicago and Vancouver, according to Stephens.
Appel hopes the trend persists. She’s already sold two franchises for a Buttercup Bake Shops in New York, and is in discussions for several more in the metro area. She can picture about 100 Buttercups nationwide, eventually, although she never wants the stores to be as ubiquitous as Starbucks. She sees them as a destination spot, limited to one per neighborhood.
“I think they’re getting more and more popular,” Bussel said. “It’s kind of like they’re taking over.”
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Cupcake Interview: Pizazz Ganache (not her real name)
Name: Pizazz Ganache
Age: 36
Location: Orlando
Occupation: Mortgage Consultant
How often do you eat cupcakes?
What's the best thing about eating cupcakes?
It’s so personal. With a cupcake, you never really have to consider what another person might want…It’s all about you and that’s quite rare and special.
What's your favorite type of cupcake?
I’m fickle. Just now, it’s a big white cupcake . . . ready for decorating with spring colored candies.
How do cupcakes compare/contrast to other baked goods for you?
Cupcakes are similar to cookies in that you’re able to choose just exactly the one you want … and, very much like cookies, people seem to really enjoy receiving cookies. In fact, I gave out home-made cookies on little trays with hot chocolate and a mug this past holiday season to my favorite business type friends and they all got so EMOTIONAL about it. I had no idea I’d be such a hit.
Cupcakes are the polar opposite to fondue. Cupcakes are simple, happy personal celebrations where fondue is communal dessert experience full of mystery and intrigue.
Is there any innovation you'd like to see made to the cupcake that would improve it for you?
I just found out they’ve created an extra large foil liner which means I can make tremendous cupcakes with no pan! Brilliant! Much more so than the invention of the mini-cupcake, I think.
Do you bake your own cupcakes? Or (even better)have someone who bakes them for you?
I bake my own. But I’d love to have cupcakes baked for me . . .
What's your first cupcake-related memory?
Putting the liners in the pan for my mom. The best.
What's the most fun you've ever had with a cupcake?
Last week, I made a batch of cupcakes to celebrate the birth of my newest nephew. His brother (3) and sister (just shy of 2) and the rest of us enjoyed decorating to our own custom specifications. Brother – Orange Sprinkles in a rush of wild abandon, Sister – Little mini flowers and bunnies which she then ate one by one, leaving the cake to sit naked on the plate.
Do you have anything else to add?
I heard about an incredible woman in my profession that baked a cake for every closing. I may just bake a customized batch of cupcakes for each of mine from now on. In fact, I’m going to start right now!
Reader help line - post your answers in the comments section
Do you know where I might find black cupcake wrappers? I need them for my wedding. I am putting cupcake -"Cake"-towers on each table. Thanks!
I'm throwing a baby shower for my friend, who's having a girl. I want to do cupcakes instead of cake, because I think it is cuter and more fun! Plus we're going to have about 50-60 people and it will be easier to serve. Do I need to get a tower, or can I just stack them (maybe with toothpicks to hold them in place)?
Monday, March 27, 2006
chocolate cupcakes stuffed with chocolate-mint gananche and topped with mint buttercream
chocolate cupcakes stuffed with chocolate-mint gananche and topped with mint buttercream
Originally uploaded by chockylit.
Sunday, March 26, 2006
T-shirt For Spring
Cupcakes Takes The Cake
Originally uploaded by candiedyams.
Prepare for the spring weather by getting a lovely "Cupcakes Take The Cake" T-shirt. It comes in yellow, green and pink. Check out our Cafe Press shop and order one today!
Saturday, March 25, 2006
A different kind of cupcake interview
From Rachel - This cupcake interview with Tamara is a little heavier than we usually get into on this blog, but I think will also be of interest to our readers. She calls cupcakes "the hand-written thank-you notes of baking" - LOVE IT! She also calls them "art that you eat" - indeed.
Name: Tamara S. Tabo
Age: 27
Location: Stanford, California
Occupation: Philosophy Graduate Student; Law School Applicant; Ferocious, Unabashed Bitch in the Name of Eating Disorder Awareness
URL: www.digestiondujour.blogspot.com
How often do you eat cupcakes?
That's a tricky question because I am presently dragging myself out of the trenches of Anorexia. (Read about my recovery experiences at www.digestiondujour.blogspot.com) Prior to the onset of my eating disorder, I'd estimate a cupcake consumption frequency of once or twice a month. I'll let you guess how often I ate the likes of cupcakes during the height of my illness, when a bowl of steamed vegetables felt like an indulgence. As I get angry at Anorexia (and the culture that perpetuates it) and get happy about food again, I expect my cupcake intake to increase accordingly.
What's the best thing about eating cupcakes?
Approached right, they can be miniature works of art. Art that you eat! What a total aesthetic experience! While dainty and sweet, they are also the rugged individualists of the pastry world. (I think I want to be a cupcake when I grow up.) Even the ugliest cupcake ever slapped together by a kid for a kindergarten birthday party is way cuter than any cookie or pie I've ever seen.
Always seeking out salient metaphor in all things, I suppose that, most importantly, I see cupcakes as symbolic of righteous eating. As a woman recovering from an eating disorder, the part of me that binges and purges wants to eat a whole damned cake, right now, all at once . . . then throw it up. The part of me that restricts food intake to the slightest minimum physically possible doesn't even want to taste the homemade frosting to see if it came out right. The intuitive, limits-loving-yet-life-embracing eater in me wants a cupcake.
We all deserve to have our lives punctuated by itty-bitty bits of sweetness. We're entitled to tiny oases of something worth savoring, even as we live comfortably with the reality that life is not meant to always be sweet. Cupcakes are the blissful middle ground between gluttony and asceticism, between pathological over-indulgence and rigid, unkind self-denial. We all deserve a cupcake now and then.
What's your favorite type of cupcake?
The immediately available type! I am, indeed, a cupcake pluralist. However, the Guinness chocolate variety profiled on your website may change that . . . .
How do cupcakes compare/contrast to other baked goods for you?
The careful crafting of cupcakes versus that of other baked goods appeals to me. There's some sort of extra mindfulness necessary to assemble discrete, unique cakes. Preparing a batch of cupcakes is like the hand-written thank-you notes of baking, whereas a whole cake is more like sending out a mass e-mail thanking "everyone who made my birthday so special." Both are nice, of course, but the former just seems a little more personal.
And cookies? Well, cookies, the little nondescript, conformist bastards, seem to me to be the Stalinists of baked goods. I have no time for cookies.
Is there any innovation you'd like to see made to the cupcake that would improve it for you?
You suggest some imperfection in the Almighty Cupcake? Sacrilege! I'll play it safe and say that wider distribution would be an improvement.
Do you bake your own cupcakes? Or (even better) have someone who bakes them for you?
This past summer, I baked several batches of cupcakes for friends and family. On my mom's birthday I tried a pecan praline ice cream cupcake recipe, along with a handful of other spontaneous concoctions. I even made my own frosting. This short-lived blaze of glory in the kitchen was totally out-of-character for me--not only because, well, I was anorexic, but also because my cooking skills (and ambitions) had never really surpassed the level of those of a sixth-grade latchkey kid. To
be honest, my baking whirlwind felt a bit more like a craft project than food preparation. (Hmmm . . . maybe that had a little something to do with the fact that I didn't want to personally eat any of the cakes . . . .) In any case, it was a fun experiment, one that I look forward to replicating now that I'm cultivating a healthy romance with food.
What's your first cupcake-related memory?
I recall a preschool-era birthday party with yellow cakes with chocolate frosting. I was always an eat-by-the-layer sort of girl, so I meticulously separated the cakey contents of the paper cup from the chocolate on top, dabbing at the frosting with my finger.
I also remember, pretty early on, fetishizing those mass-produced supermarket monstrosities--you know, the ones with the grandiose swirl of whipped cream frosting that was often, I don't know, airbrushed with bright colors, as though some underemployed graffiti artist was making rent by working in the bakery department of the grocery store. In my childhood, such baked goods were verboten. They were like the Barbie dolls of cupcakes--which my organic-vegetables-and-homesewn-clothes sort of mom would not abide either. That which is forbidden becomes that which we want. Thus, my burning girlhood longing for pink, plastic-y things, both dolls and cakes.
What's the most fun you've ever had with a cupcake?
A high-school era food fight at a pool party comes to mind . . . but that starts to sound like the premise of a lame erotic story.
Friday, March 24, 2006
Chocolate cupcake
From Lyndell's Bakery in Somerville, Ma. Yellow cake with a thick -almost ganache- chocolate frosting.
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Cupcake bakery owner interview: Daniellan Louie of Ivy Bakery
Please go check out the incredible Ivy Bakery when you're done reading this interview - CUSTOM MADE CUPCAKES people! Seriously, they look fabulous and I'm getting a box of Ivy treats delivered to me next week so I will confirm the taste with you then. (Images courtesy Ivy Bakery)
Name: Daniellan Louie
Age: 22
Location: Manhattan
Occupation: Baker/Owner of Ivy Bakery
URL: www.ivybakery.com
Can you tell us more about Ivy Bakery and how you got started baking?
It all started with a friend of mine who had a sweet tooth and wanted me to bake him a batch of brownies. My first attempt at baking and well let's say they were not edible. :) But I was and still am a perfectionist and kept at it until I made them perfect and what is now known as my Double Chocolate Chip Brownies. After months of supplying him free brownies to feed his addiction I found myself out of cash and he suggested that I start selling my brownies. So I put together a basic website and started selling brownies and chocolate covered strawberries to my friends and family. 5 years later, lots of self taught baking and with a huge collection of recipes, I started Ivy Bakery. My real intention is to open a dessert lounge in Manhattan, however I ran into funding problems so I have yet to open a storefront. Regardless my customers can conveniently browse and order through IvyBakery.com. Orders are then made to their specifications and delivered to them.
What kinds of cupcakes do you offer, and which are most popular?
I offer an entire line of yummy cupcakes which includes Apple Spice, Banana, Boston Cream, Carrot, Coconut, Devil's Food, Gingerbread, Lemon, Red Velvet, Rich Chocolate, & Strawberry Shortcake. Along with the cupcakes I also have a huge selection of different frostings to choose from, including Maple Buttercream, which is my favorite. The most popular cupcakes are the Banana, Carrot, Red Velvet & Rich Chocolate.
How much advance notice do you need to whip up a batch of cupcakes?
For small orders I need 2-3 days notice. For large orders, at least a week or two in advance would be great.
What's the most unusual or outrageous request you've had for a cupcake order?
Hmm, the most unusual, you know what I haven't had an unusual request yet, but I'm looking forward to it.
We usually only talk strictly about cupcakes here, but I'm dying to know what's so special about your Double Chocolate Chip Brownies?
Ahh . . . what's so special about them, it's a secret! LOL but I have on more than several occasions been accused of putting crack in my brownies. But really it's just freshness and lots of love. Try them! I promise you'll become addicted... cough* I mean love them. :)
And now onto some personal questions . . .
How often do you eat cupcakes?
I eat cupcakes every time I make a batch . . . for quality check purposes, of course . . . of course. :)
What's the best thing about eating cupcakes?
The best thing about eating cupcakes, I would have to say is that first bite when you get a mix of the soft cake and the sweet creamy frosting.
What's your favorite type of cupcake?
My favorite type of cupcake would have to be carrot cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.
How do cupcakes compare/contrast to other baked goods for you?
Cupcakes are one of my favorites, they are definitely up there. I do have a weakness for pastries but there's nothing like a cute miniature cake to put a smile on my face.
Is there any innovation you'd like to see made to the cupcake that would improve it for you?
Hmm, now that I think about it, nope, the cupcake is perfect! :)
What's your first cupcake-related memory?
My first cupcake-related memory is baking cupcakes for my little cousins with that cake in a box stuff where you add oil and eggs. Yeah that was fun, till I learned to make it from scratch and went crazy with different flavors.
What's the most fun you've ever had with a cupcake?
The most fun I've ever had would have to be when I started testing cupcake flavors and had my friends try dozens of flavors in one sitting. And as they consumed each one they looked less and less friendly. I do find some pleasure in watching my friends devour over a dozen cupcakes until their stomachs turned. I'm not mean though, I'm very sweet. :)
Do you have anything else to add?
Check out Ivy Bakery at www.ivybakery.com. We specialize in custom sweets and even those on special diets such as sugar free, vegetarians, diabetics and so on. Everything is made fresh and to order then delivered to your door. So take a look at our 100+ item menu and give us a call! 347-598-3452 The cupcakes are waiting for you!
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
pretty flowers from Georgia
From Savannah, Georgay bakery Back in the Day, which hosts a cupcake happy hour!
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Monday, March 20, 2006
Vegan Chocolate & Vanilla Cupcake
Made without refined sugars, dairy or eggs. Check out www.heytherecupcake.blogspot.com for more info.
Cupcake interview: Sage Vivant
Name: Sage Vivant
Age: 47
Location: San Francisco
Occupation: writer, lover of baked goods
URL: www.customeroticasource.com
How often do you eat cupcakes?
Not nearly as often as I'd like, primarily due to their astounding lack of availability. If pressed for an answer to this question, I would have to say four times a year, which is truly shameful. I don't even know how you can interview me with a record like mine.
What's the best thing about eating cupcakes?
They are simultaneously reckless (look how they threaten to spill over the top!) and restrained (they stay in their little paper holders). And they allow me to feel decadent (because they're delicious and fattening) and self-righteous (they're smaller than a cake).
What's your favorite type of cupcake?
Whatever's been baked that day and sitting in front of me. I'm serious. I've never met a cupcake I didn't like. If somebody offered me a pickle-flavored cupcake with soy sauce frosting, I think I'd give it a shot. But if I ruled the world and could have anything I wanted at any time, I would choose strawberry cupcakes with chocolate frosting.
How do cupcakes compare/contrast to other baked goods for you?
Well, I must admit that they battle with cookies for my top slot. Cookies can be consumed more easily and in a wider variety of public places than cupcakes can. Cupcakes, bless their crumbly little souls, tend to be inappropriate for places where decorum is important. There's the problem of paper, how wide to open your mouth to get all the frosting, and of course, the tendency toward crumblage.
Is there any innovation you'd like to see made to the cupcake that would improve it for you?
Yes. I would like to see edible paper. If this has been invented already, somebody needs to tell me about it right away.
Do you bake your own cupcakes? Or (even better) have someone who bakes them for you?
Someone who bakes them for me??? What is that, a joke? Are there people out there willing to do that? What a concept. Anyway, no I do not bake my own. I'm lucky to make dinner, let alone a treat. I desperately need someone to make me cupcakes—I hope I've made that perfectly clear.
What's your first cupcake-related memory?
One of my aunts always brought over vanilla cupcakes with chocolate icing when she came over. I and my brother were probably 5 and 3 years old, respectively, and she did this well into our teen years. She may have even introduced me to cupcakes—I don't remember for sure. The kids in my family all have fond memories of her but I wonder whether it was her warm and gracious heart that we loved or just the site of that little pink box with the string wrapped around it.
What's the most fun you've ever had with a cupcake?
Taking my brother's nose print with the icing of one. I thought that was pretty damn funny.
Do you have anything else to add?
I love this trend that's started for those of us of a certain age—when you get too old for it to be polite to add candles to a cake, people give you cupcakes instead and stick in that one lone candle that says "You're so old, we've stopped counting."
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Week 47: Gingerbread Cupcake Pots with Lemon Drizzle
From the book 500 Cupcakes by Fergal Connolly. See 52 Cupcakes for recipe and details.
chocolate with bailey's frosting
dark chocolate with bailey's frosting for st. patrick's day celebrations.
Cupcake recipe from Chockylit
Cupcake recipe from Chockylit
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Good Morning America Cupcake Challenge
Bakers,start your ovens! ABC's Good Morning America is having a Cupcake Recipe Challenge.
Good Morning America Weekend" kicks off its first "Great American Cupcake Recipe Challenge" today. If you have an unique homemade cupcake recipe, you can enter to win.
Our winner will be invited to appear on "Good Morning America Weekend" to demonstrate the cooking process of the cupcakes.
All entries must be received by May 1, 2006
Friday, March 17, 2006
Cupcake interview: Sara Jo Alloco
In our ongoing quest to interview every female comedian in New York City, here's one with the totally adorable and funny Carly Simon fan Sara Jo Alloco.
Name: Sara Jo Allocco
Age: 27
Location: NYC
Occupation: By day a Handbag Buyer and by night Performer/Comedienne
URL: www.sarajoallocco.blogspot.com
How often do you eat cupcakes?
A few times a month.
What's the best thing about eating cupcakes?
They are the perfect bite size treat. Well, I eat them in one bite.
What's your favorite type of cupcake?
I LOVE Magnolia when they first come out of the oven but if you wait more than an hour the icing becomes rock solid. My all time favorite though is always the Duncan Hines chocolate with vanilla frosting OR vanilla cake with chocolate frosting and then sprinkles of some sort.
How do cupcakes compare/contrast to other baked goods for you?
Cupcakes are usually cheaper to buy, and more tasty. Also you can eat them with your hands while with a nice slice of cheesecake you are looked down upon if you were to shovel it into your mouth like a fat ape.
Is there any innovation you'd like to see made to the cupcake that would
improve it for you?
I have really gotten into red velvet cupcakes. I feel that in my childhood these sorts of cupcakes were nowhere to be found and now you can get just about anything.
Do you bake your own cupcakes? Or (even better) have someone who bakes
them for you?
I have but not recently. My dear friend and comedy partner Brandy Barber makes them all the time, and then I reap all the
benefits.
What's your first cupcake-related memory?
In 1st grade we had a bake sale at my school and I remember this one girl's mom baked these delicious cupcakes. My mom? She tore open a box of Entenmanns Chocolate Chip cookies and put them on a cake plate. She was the hero to the other kids, but this other mother was mine. But just for that one moment.
What's the most fun you've ever had with a cupcake?
I once got a wee too frisky with the batter and an old boyfriend.
Do you have anything else to add?
I think it's amazing that you devote an entire blog to cupcakes. Now every time I buy one, eat one, make one, I will forever think of you!
Thursday, March 16, 2006
lemon of a beast
Lemon cupcake from www.mrsbeasleys.com but posted says the cake was awful, frosting was very good.
Cupcake Interview: Wendy McClure
When I found out that Wendy McClure likes cupcakes, I of course had to get more info. Wendy's the author of the fabulous memoir I'm Not The New Me and the forthcoming The Amazing Mackerel Pudding Plan: Classic Diet Recipe Cards from the 1970s.
Name: Wendy McClure
Age: 35
Location: Chicago, IL
Occupation: Writer and editor
URL: http://www.poundy.com and http://www.candyboots.com
How often do you eat cupcakes?
Not very often. A few times a year. Maybe once a quarter? Yes, I consume cupcakes quarterly. I am looking forward to my Spring Cupcake.
What's the best thing about eating cupcakes?
They wear little paper pants and you get to take them off. You can say, “Let me help you with that, Mr. Cupcake!” as you peel off the paper. You can say it to yourself quietly. Probably you shouldn’t say it too loud when other people are around.
What's your favorite type of cupcake?
I like very soft cakey cake and big swirly pompadours of frosting. I like the simple combinations of yellow cake and chocolate frosting, or chocolate and white frosting, or chocolate and chocolate frosting. I wouldn’t turn down one of those hot-rodder cupcakes all tripped out with the sprinkles and fancy icing designs, but the ideal cupcake is an uncomplicated cupcake.
How do cupcakes compare/contrast to other baked goods for you?
Cupcakes are definitely tastier than Melba Toast. I don’t know why that is.
Is there any innovation you'd like to see made to the cupcake that would improve it for you?
No, but I have an idea for making cupcakes worse, which would be to make them look like cups of Fluffy Mackerel Pudding.
Do you bake your own cupcakes? Or (even better) have someone who bakes them for you?
I baked my own cupcakes only once, when I was in junior high, for a church youth group function. I baked dozens and dozens and I kept adding water to the frosting so it would spread better. But when I tried to carry the box out to the car, the rows of cupcakes were so heavy and slick that they bent the bottom of the box and created this massive cupcake landslide that made a spectacular mess and ruined everything. I had to bring Oreos instead. On the upside, though, there was plenty of leftover cupcake debris.
What's your first cupcake-related memory?
I don’t know if I have a visual memory; I just remember how I loved the sound of the word “cupcakes.” I liked the consonants, the “k’s,” like taking little bites.
What's the most fun you've ever had with a cupcake?
Last month my boyfriend and I went out to this vegetarian restaurant because we’ve been trying to eat better, and we’ve been shopping for healthy crap for weeks and weeks now, and we just wanted to treat ourselves. There was a bakery case with chocolate vegan cupcakes at the restaurant and first we thought we’d get just one cupcake and split it, but of course we got two. We got two to go, and we went home and ate them while watching an episode of The Muppet Show. This gave us a great feeling of accomplishment somehow.
Do you have anything else to add?
Why have muffins gotten so freakishly big, while cupcakes have stayed cute and little? Is it an evolutionary thing?
Just in time for St. Patty's Day...Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes!
from the Detroit Free Press, here's another way to drink (well, eat) your Irish beer on St. Patrick's Day:
Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes
Makes: About 30
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Total time: 50 minutes (plus cooling and frosting time)
CUPCAKES
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 cup Guinness stout
2/3 cup dark cocoa powder, sifted
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
2 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
8 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
Green food coloring, optional
Green sprinkles, optional
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 24 to 30 muffin cups or line them with paper liners.
In a heavy saucepan heat the butter, Guinness and dark cocoa powder until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove the pan from the heat and let the mixture cool.
In a large bowl, sift together the salt, flour, sugar and baking soda.
Add the Guinness-cocoa mixture and beat for 1 minute on medium speed.
Add the eggs and sour cream and beat for 2 minutes on medium speed.
Evenly divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups. Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
While the cupcakes are baking, make the frosting. In a medium bowl, beat together the cream cheese, butter, confectioners' sugar, milk and vanilla.
Leave as is or tint it with green food coloring for a festive look.
Remove the cupcakes from the oven and let them cool for 5 minutes in the muffin tin.
Then remove the muffins onto a wire rack to cool completely. Frost the cupcakes as desired. Sprinkle with green sprinkles or sugar.
Cake recipe from executive chef Mary Brady of Diamond Jim Brady's Bistro, Novi Town Center, and frosting from and tested by Susan Selasky for the Free Press Test Kitchen. 231 calories (47% from fat), 12 grams fat (8 grams sat. fat), 30 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams protein, 130 mg sodium, 47 mg cholesterol, 18 mg calcium, 1 gram fiber.
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
cupcake with pink frosting onesie
Sorry, darlings, I bought this one. Someone's baby is going to be the cutest cupcake around!
Cupcake Crafts
Searching through wists, I found some really cool cupcake craft projects.
Cupcake Crochet with cherry on top
Cupcake Hat with Sprinkles
Another cupcake hat
Cupcake ornaments (you can hang all year long)
St. Paddy's Day Cupcakes
St. Paddy's Day Parade
Originally uploaded by Lady Lou.
Erin Go Soda Bread!
Make St. Patrick's Day cupcakes instead. I found a recipe for Leprechaun cupcakes in the Detroit Free Press.
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Monday, March 13, 2006
Julia's Birthday Cupcakes
Julia's BirthdayCupcakes
Originally uploaded by candiedyams.
Julia Allison, columnist at AM New York, took our advice and got cupcakes for her birthday at Sugar Sweet Sunshine.
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Spring Break Cupcakes
for the Lamar Leopards
Rachel's note - I will never, ever, ever be able to get my frosting so perfect, and that's okay, I'm just impressed.
Rachel's note - I will never, ever, ever be able to get my frosting so perfect, and that's okay, I'm just impressed.
chocolate-pb-mini-cupcakes
This sounds like such a delicious cake to me because I love chocolate and peanut butter. The notes say they're from an upcoming Post Punk Kitchen vegan cupcake cookbook!!!
Saturday, March 11, 2006
Colorful Cupcakes from Kitchenette
Cupcakes from Kitchenette
Originally uploaded by candiedyams.
Pastel colors remind me of spring!
Cupcake interview: Donna George Storey
Name: Donna George Storey
Age: 44
Location: Berkeley, CA
Occupation: Erotica Writer
URL: www.donnageorgestorey.com
How often do you eat cupcakes?
We’re going through lean times in the family now, in more ways than one, so it’s usually once a month or so. But I think about them quite a bit more than that, so if lust in your heart counts I’m a frequent indulger.
What's the best thing about eating cupcakes?
That first sweep of tongue across the frosting. It’s always the sweetest.
I’d add that if there’s a little lip of cake that’s escaped over the top of the cup, as there often is on the huge cupcakes at Toot Sweets bakery in Berkeley (I recommend the yellow over the chocolate), the best part is nibbling it away all the way around.
What's your favorite type of cupcake?
While I am a model of fidelity in my marriage, in this area of life I refuse to be monogamous. And as other interviewees have mentioned here, one of the charms of cupcakes is you don’t have to make as much of a commitment to any single fashion or flavor.
No matter how creative you get, it’s hard to top a classic vanilla cupcake with vanilla frosting at Citizen Cupcake, savored at a window table as you look down on the Market Street shoppers rushing by.
I also get pretty worked up over carrot cake cupcakes with pineapple and raisins and a lavish dollop of cream cheese frosting sprinkled with toasted pecans. German chocolate is fantastic, too. Far preferable to the three-layer slabs of a whole cake version. The picture of one with the pecan-coconut frosting from the 3/9 entry here haunts my dreams.
But I like to be surprised. The other day I tried a strawberry cupcake at Love at First Bite in Berkeley, which I wouldn’t have thought would make my favorites list, but it was very tasty indeed, like the essence of early summer. Every time I walk into a bakery, part of me is hoping to find a new love, so I keep the door open.
How do cupcakes compare/contrast to other baked goods for you?
I’m really drawn to self-contained, single serving desserts like cupcakes and fancy cookies. I like layers—different levels of experience in one small package, and cupcakes give you just this withthe cake, then frosting, and maybe even filling or sprinkles. At Christmas time I spend a whole week making six different kinds of layered or multi-toned cookies and give tins of them to the kids’ teachers and neighbors with a lovely homemaker’s smile. (Then I go back to my secret life of writing dirty stories.)
Is there any innovation you'd like to see made to the cupcake that would improve it for you?
I think there should be an annual cupcake expo where all the famous cupcake bakeries set up booths to show off their wares. And there would also be appearances by renowned pastry chefs to take on the challenge of creating new cupcake experiences, sort of like David Hoffman did with celebrity chefs for his book, Easy Bake Oven Gourmet.
Do you bake your own cupcakes? Or (even better) have someone who bakes them for you?
I have two favorite types I make myself. One is a buttery, homemade 1-2-3-4 yellow cake with stovetop fudge frosting we’ve been making for thirty years in my family. You mix sugar with eggs, evaporated milk and vanilla, cook it into a custard then stir in chocolate. We got the recipe from a box of that weird premelted Chocobake in a packet that has since faded into processed food oblivion. But the frosting itself is excellent and gooey and gets all over your fingers. It also doubles as sundae sauce. The combination of fudgy frosting and sunny golden cake is fabulous.
I also make cupcakes out of my almond cake recipe, a flawlessly moist cake with lots of almond paste and eggs and vanilla and a bit of flour. I dust them with confectioner’s sugar, like a tea cake. It’s like a tiny trip to Europe. My sons love them.
The best bakeries I’ve tried in the Bay Area are Love at First Bite (for great variety) and Toot Sweets (for generous, old-fashioned portions) in Berkeley and Citizen Cupcake in San Francisco.
What's your first cupcake-related memory?
When I was in third grade I wanted to make my favorite cake, coconut cake from scratch, to take to school for my birthday. My mother suggested I make them into cupcakes and for the first time ever she let me do all the measuring and mixing and spooning into the cupcake pan. I remember gazing down into the bowl as the beaters made these beautiful swirls through the batter and feeling so creative and competent and grown up. I was a little disappointed that the cupcakes didn’t rise quite as high as one made with a mix or store-bought, but they tasted very good and tender and my teacher raved about them. I still get a thrill turning people on with my homemade sweets—that’s a talent you can take with you through the grandma years.
What's the most fun you've ever had with a cupcake?
In eleventh grade, I decorated the tops of a big tray of cupcakes with the symbols for the elements in the periodic table for a holiday party in AP Chemistry. I’m sure it helped me get an "A" that semester.
Do you have anything else to add?
I love the photos on this site! You should make a Cupcake-A-Day calendar.
SHF 17 - Magnolia Chocolate Cupcake with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting
SHF 17 - Magnolia Chocolate Cupcake with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting
Originally uploaded by Skinny Epicurean.
Friday, March 10, 2006
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Daily Guilt's NYC cupcake taste test
Daily Guilt visits NYC and does a cupcake tastes test and the winner is...Babycakes!
This bakery rightly deserves the “Best Cupcakes” title it received from New York Magazine. The cupcakes are divine, the shop interior is inviting, and the women behind the counter were so friendly I wanted to move to the Lower East Side so I could visit every day. It also has the distinction of serving up allergen-free goodies, so it’s nearly health food! I hit this place directly after my not-so-sweet visit to sugar Sweet sunshine a few blocks away.
Coconut Cupcakes with Lime Curd Filling
A white,coconut cupcake with a lime curd filling,topped with lime zested whipping cream.
Hostess Cupcake from Kitchenette
Cupcakes from Kitchenette
Originally uploaded by candiedyams.
Very delicious! Creamy filling
Kitchenette is located on Amsterdam near 123rd St near Columbia University.
Today's cupcake interview
Kris's cupcake sculpture:
Name: Kris Garland (I also go by Rakka or Rakkadeer)
Age: 32
Location: Seattle, WA
Occupation: artist
URL: http://glitterpissing.blogspot.com or www.rakkadeer.etsy.com
How often do you eat cupcakes?
As often as possible! But, sadly, that tends to be only about once a month. I need to do something about that!
What's the best thing about eating cupcakes?
Peeling off the wrapper! Oh, the anticipation!
What's your favorite type of cupcake?
My favorite bakery cupcake has to be the chocolate peppermint patty from Cupcake Royale in Seattle. The frosting is so minty! My favorite homemade cupcake would have to be guiness chocolate with cream cheese icing! They're very rich and dense! Heavenly!
How do cupcakes compare/contrast to other baked goods for you?
There's no comparison. Cupcakes rule! They're extremely portable and that's very important to me especially when I'm running out the door with one in my hand.
Is there any innovation you'd like to see made to the cupcake that would improve it for you?
I wish they had the ability to clone themselves. Failing that, I don't really see the need for improvement.
Do you bake your own cupcakes? Or (even better) have someone who bakes them for you?
Yes! I bake my own cupcakes! Occasionally, I'll try to make them topical (I made a batch of "Crazy Delicious" cupcakes that used Mr. Pibb in the batter and Red Vines icing as an homage to "Lazy Sunday") or at least personalized. (like the Space Invader cupcakes for one friend that loves that particular game.) Sometimes I wish that someone would make them for me because I spend too much time baking cupcakes for others!
What's your first cupcake-related memory?
Seeing a cupcake at a bakery when I was about four. The icing was taller than the cake and it had a clown head decoration. I was thrilled (icing! cake!) and terrified (clowns! *shiver*) at the same time.
What's the most fun you've ever had with a cupcake?
When I had to cut the tops off of a dozen of them. (It was part of a larger cake project.) The whole time I was sawing their little heads off I kept thinking about the Seinfeld muffin tops episode and it made me laugh!
When did you start doing cupcake drawings and sculptures, and how did you make the sculpture? What are you doing with it? Is the cupcake challenging to
draw/sculpt?
I've been drawing cupcakes for about a year now. They're lots of fun to work with because they're simple forms and perfectly distilled images of happiness. People really respond positively to images of cupcakes!
The cupcake sculpture came about because of a need for freshness. I have friends that love getting my cupcakes in the mail but often the cakes would be stale when they arrived. So I thought why not make something that will not only make it through shipping but will also be around to make someone happy for a while?
The cupcakes are easy to make. I just pour plaster into a prepared cupcake tin like normal batter. The icing is made from spackle which sounds crazy until you realize that spackle can be piped like icing. It's really great stuff!
As for what I do with my cupcake sculptures, I send some to friends and I also sell them on etsy. They also make great paperweights while they're waiting to be boxed and shipped.
Do you have anything else to add?
Thanks so much for the interview opportunity! It was lots of fun!
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Best Cupcakes in NYC (according to New York Magazine)
In their 2006 issue of Best of New York, New York Magazine has voted Babycakes the very best. Here's what they said:
Babycakes
248 Broome St., 212-677-5047
In a city overrun by copycat cupcakes, we despaired of finding a great one. Moist, crumbly cake. Good, natural flavor. Frosting that wasn’t teeth-achingly sweet. Satisfaction came in an admittedly unconventional package: the vegan version at BabyCakes. Are we actually suggesting that the exclusion of eggs, dairy, sugar, and wheat doesn’t spell doom for a cupcake? That cold-pressed coconut oil, agave nectar, garbanzo flour, and spelt aren’t just substitutes, but superior? Yes, indeed. And you’ve gotta love a place that sells frosting shots for a buck.
What do YOU think of Babycakes? Let us know in the comments section!
Drooling over cupcakes
"Adults are drooling over more sophisticated versions of cupcakes," Freedom News Service, East Valley Tribune
Pull back the pleated paper. With the first bite, front teeth etch a decadent trail through buttercream frosting before reaching the soft cake below. The imprint of tooth through icing stays put, offering visual evidence of richness.
This cupcake looks sexy. Not like a kid’s kindergarten birthday treat. Cupcakes have taken on a whole new image. A more glamorous kind of identity.
“For dinner party cupcakes, put them on a silver tray and adults fall all over them,” says Anne Byrn, whose recent cookbook, “Cupcakes From the Cake Doctor” (Workman, $13.95), glorifies the diminutive desserts. In the book, she starts with doctored-up cake mix concoctions, then adorns them with dozens of flourishes. She tops them with swirls of frosting or meringue, and often hides a luscious surprise filling deep inside the cake.
Latest cupcake interview
Name: Amy Rae
Age: 21
Location: Buffalo, NY
Occupation: Student/Office Assistant
How often do you eat cupcakes?
At least once a week. It would be more, but I tend to eat an entire batch in one day, so there's none left for the rest of the week!
What's the best thing about eating cupcakes?
Not feeling guilty when you eat two . . . or seven of them. Also the fun in decorating them . . . each one can be entirely different, and it's exciting to eat the prettiest ones first, and save the "ugly" ones for your boyfriend.
What's your favorite type of cupcake?
Coconut cupcake with chocolate ganache and raspberries on top.
How do cupcakes compare/contrast to other baked goods for you?
I refuse to bake, or even eat regular cake now. It doesn't hold a candle to that excitement of having your own special little treat. Even when I make brownies, I put them in muffin tins so they atleast have the same shape as a cupcake.
Is there any innovation you'd like to see made to the cupcake that would improve it for you?
I actually have a really stellar idea that I've been contacting Wilton about. It's going to be brilliant. Seriously.
Do you bake your own cupcakes? Or (even better) have someone who bakes them for you?
I'm vegan, so I pretty much have to bake all my own sweet treat fixes. There are a few places in NYC that offer vegan cupcakes, but there's nothing like the satisfaction of decorating your own cupcakes and taking pictures of them, and having everyone "ohh" and "ahh" over them.
What's your first cupcake-related memory?
On my fifth birthday, my mom (who cannot bake for the life of her) made some chocolate cupcakes for me to bring to my class (back before there were rules about that sort of thing). She forget to put in the baking powder and we only had half the oil required for the recipe. They were short, dense ugly little things and I stood in the kitchen sobbing for her not to make me bring them.
What's the most fun you've ever had with a cupcake?
For my boyfriend and my 3rd anniversary last year, I made a bunch of cupcakes, piped the letter 6 on all of them, and then bit all of them in half. He was a little confused, and I was very fat.
Do you have anything else to add?
Cupcakes are my favorite, because they are the only food that doesn't give me gas.
cupcakies!
(clockwise) devil's food/vanilla, vanilla butternilk/vanilla, devil's food/dulce de leche, vanilla buttermilk/chocolate. photograph by Sean Gin. (www.teacakebakeshop.com)
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
Another cupcake interview
You can be next! Email us at cupcakestakethecake at yahoo.com
Name: Pink Princess Lisa
Age: 26
Location: Oklahoma & Washington, D.C.
Occupation: Lawyer
How often do you eat cupcakes?
Goodness! Way too often, usually about 3 times a week.
What's the best thing about eating cupcakes?
The icing and the cake part are perfectly matched in both sweetness and texture. I always say its your own little cake, in a cup. It makes everyone feel special to have their own little cake, and its an easy way to celebrate the everyday.
What's your favorite type of cupcake?
Vanilla for the cake part with hot pink icing. Yum!
How do cupcakes compare/contrast to other baked goods for you?
Cupcakes are much better than other baked goods because it usually just takes one to satiate me. They also seem so festive and are guaranteed to lift my mood.
Is there any innovation you'd like to see made to the cupcake that would improve it for you?
Hiding diamond rings in the middle of them.
Do you bake your own cupcakes? Or (even better)have someone who bakes them for you?
I bake my own, and I get a real kick out of finding unique baking wrappers for them. When I was studying for the bar exam I made my husband provide me with a steady supply of cupcake yummy goodness--but that's as close as I get to having someone bake them for me.
What's your first cupcake-related memory?
My mom used to always bring cupcakes to my elementary school classroom every year for my birthday. It was so sweet, no pun intended.
What's the most fun you've ever had with a cupcake?
Using the cupcake wrapper from a cupcake I ate to teach my two dogs to "speak." When they "spoke" when commanded I let them both lick the wrapper for a reward.
Do you have anything else to add?
Thanks for the interview opportunity.
Monday, March 06, 2006
Week 45: Happy Birthday, Maryland 150th Cupcakes
Vosges Chocolate Currie Coconut Cupcakes...recipe at 52 Cupcakes.
